Monthly Archives: April 2016

Starz and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) began production this week on the 10-episode first season of “American Gods,” the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel.Shooting has commenced in Toronto, Canada and will continue in additional locations across America.

Leachman plays Zorya Vechernyaya, the eldest of three sisters who watch over the constellations, guarding against horrors forgotten by modern man. Once accustomed to royal status, the sisters have learned to survive on far less in a country that has no memory of them.

Stormare plays Czernobog. A Slavic god of darkness and evil, Czernobog is reluctant to join the coming war, wary of Wednesday’s motivations.

Obi plays Anubis, the commanding ancient Egyptian god of the dead, gently guiding mortals through the judgment of their souls.

Kraish will play The Jinn, a mythical creature of the fire who understands a person’s deepest desires better than they do. He fears for his safety with the coming war, and considers fleeing America.

It would seem James Gunn has drafted his old pal Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Slither) in for an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, playing none other than Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. In the comics Williams started out as a villain before putting his wicked ways behind him and joining The Avengers. He later retired to pursue and acting career, which is referenced by these mock movie posters that were sent to Comicbook.com. Whether Fillion actually shows up onscreen as Williams in the movie or not remains to be seen of course, as there’s every chance these posters will just be used as background easter eggs. Still, pretty cool I’m sure you’ll agree. Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage.

As if they hadn’t heard thousands of attendees screaming for more transparency on every other sale except badges (on which they already do a good job), Comic-Con International instead released a comprehensive FAQ about this year’s new process of shipping badges to domestic buyers.

As previously announced, badges will be shipped about three to four weeks before the convention (so late June/early July) to the domestic address that the buyer input during purchase. For those who put in an international address, you’ll still need to pick-up your badge on-site (so save that barcode e-mail!). Child badges will also not be shipped, and you’ll still need to register children on-site the same as always.

Between now and April 27, if you were the one who physically purchased any badges during either Preregistration or Open Registration, make sure to log in to your Member ID to make sure your shipping address is correct. If it’s not, you’ll be able to edit it up through April 27.

According to the FAQ, badges will be shipped in batches so “please do not be alarmed if a friend/family member receives their badges before you do”. If you don’t receive your badge for any reason (including aliens, apparently), then you’ll simply need to exchange your barcode for another badge on-site — and thanks to the power of RFID, they can remotely turn off the old badge, rendering it useless to any aliens or people who may have stolen it planning to scalp it.

What that means for you, though, is that even though badges are being mailed this year — keep that barcode e-mail, as if you should need to pick up a badge on-site for any reason, you’ll still need that.

As we reported back in February, for those who purchased their badges over both Preregistration and Open Registration with two different buyer addresses (for example: Maybe you got Thursday and Sunday in Preregistration, then your friend was able to get you Friday and Saturday in Open Registration), your badge won’t be consolidated. Instead, the individual days purchased in each sale by the individual buyer will receive only those days. You’ll still be able to consolidate those badges on-site, though, and according to CCI, this issue should affect less than 1% of all attendees.

As for the lanyard, Events Guide, Souvenir Book, and WB bag? Those won’t be shipped in advance, but you will be able to pick them up on-site. There’s no further information about that process at this time — but we admit, we’re curious to see if they scan RFID for it.

Out of all the rest of the new information, this is the one we most wanted to draw your attention to:

It is very important that you do not mix up the RFID cards and paper badges. Each RFID card will arrive pre-packaged in a badge holder. Do not remove your RFID cards or paper badges from the badge holder.

While we’ve confirmed with Intellitix, the technology company behind the software and hardware for this year’s RFID badges, that no personal data is stored on those RFID cards — they are tied to information in CCI’s own system. So if your badge stops working, you don’t want to go to the Attendee Badge Solutions Desk with a badge that says Jane Doe but an RFID card that’s tied to John Smith, unless you’d like to ruin both of your days. So don’t mix them up!